You are here

The Ethical Brain: The Science of Our Moral Dilemmas (Paperback)

Description

A provocative and fascinating look at new discoveries about the brain that challenge our ethics

The rapid advance of scientific knowledge has raised ethical dilemmas that humankind has never before had to address. Questions about the moment when life technically begins and ends or about the morality of genetically designing babies are now relevant and timely. Our ever-increasing knowledge of the workings of the human brain can guide us in the formation of new moral principles in the twenty-first century. In The Ethical Brain, preeminent neuroscientist Michael S. Gazzaniga presents the emerging social and ethical issues arising out of modern-day brain science and challenges the way we look at them. Courageous and thought-provoking -- a work of enormous intelligence, insight, and importance -- this book explores the hitherto uncharted landscape where science and society intersect.

About the Author

Michael S. Gazzaniga is the director of the SAGE Center for the Study of the Mind at the University of California, Santa Barbara. He is the president of the Cognitive Neuroscience Institute, a member of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences, the Institute of Medicine, and the National Academy of Sciences. In addition, he is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and newly elected to serve on its Board of Directors. He is also past president of the Association of Psychological Science and served on the President's Bioethics Council from 2002-2008. The author of many popular science books, including Who's In Charge? (Ecco, 2011), Human (Ecco, 2008), Nature's Mind (Basic, 1992), and Mind Matters (Houghton Mifflin, 1988), he is featured regularly on Public Television and National Public Radio, and his research has been presented on NBC Nightly News and The Today Show. Gazzaniga lives in California with his wife. He has six children.

Praise For…

“writes with verve and expertise about the fascinating issues that will confront us as our knowledge of the brain expands.” -Steven Pinker, author of The Blank Slate and How the Mind Works

“One of the most brilliant experimental neuroscientists in the world... This is a provocative and highly readable book.” -Tom Wolfe

“An extraordinary book... lucid, provocative, and deeply interesting. This is important and fascinating.” -Kay Redfield Jamison

“Wonderfully nourishing food for thought. Gazzaniga tackles some of the toughest ethical issues of our time with vigor, intelligence, insight.” -Diane Ackerman

“The great frontier is the question of how we will deal with one another, this gets us on our way.” -Alan Alda

“Highly informed account of how our brain forms our beliefs and how we can determine what beliefs serve us best.” -Robert Bazell, chief health and science correspondent, NBC News